The US Military’s Two-pronged Renewable Energy Initiative

Nevada, USA — Clean air mandates pushed the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to start developing renewable energy technologies. But the benefits of energy security and independence are what finally converted many military leaders into believers.

In combat zones, the Army is exploring mobile solar and wind generators to replace fuel trucks, which are frequent targets for insurgent attacks. More than 1,000 Americans have died while delivering fuel in Iraq and Afghanistan in recent years. The DoD hopes renewable energy can make military bases energy-independent and, ultimately, immune from threats to the utility grid.

Congress in 2007 gave the DoD marching orders to draw 25 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2025. After President Obama called for 20 percent by 2020, the DoD established a Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan, which targets improvements in greenhouse gas emissions, waste management and energy efficiency.

Some say a federal Renewable Portfolio Standard would increase the likelihood of achieving these goals. Others want an energy bill that permits the Army and Air Force to secure Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) beyond the 10-year cap in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) so more investors will consider utility-scale projects.

“To meet those goals and achieve energy security, this is the time for public officials to step up and make sure this fledgling market has long-term success,” said Karen Butterfield, director of federal accounts for SunPower Corp., which has developed the largest utility-scale solar arrays on federal property.

As a policy matter, the military has officially embraced the idea of becoming the federal government’s testing ground for renewable technology.

“The DoD can go on to serve as an early customer, thereby helping create a market, as it did with aircraft, electronics and the internet,” Dorothy Robyn, Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Installations and Environment, said during a House Armed Services Committee in February.

The military is in various stages of planning for hundreds of megawatts of renewable energy projects, including a 15-MW solar PV array a Luke Air Force Base in Arizona. It will be the largest solar installation on federal property and supply 25 percent of power needs at the base.

An even larger 500-MW solar plant is planed for the Army’s Ft. Irwin base in California. SunPower Corp. will develop the Luke AFB project near Glendale, Arizona. The company installed the previous record-holding array in 2007 with 14-MW at Nellis AFB near Las Vegas.

“There is definitely growing interest” by the military, said Monique Hanis, a Solar Energy Industries Association spokeswoman. “We’re actively engaged with the military right now.”

Karl Gawell, executive director of the Geothermal Energy Association, has also noticed an increase in military interest for utility-scale projects.

“It’s a total shift in priorities. The Defense Department has made a fundamental shift in looking at renewable energy,” Gawell said. “And it’s not just because the commander in chief ordered it; they’ve decided how fundamental it is to achieving the military’s own mission.”…